Tag: Joel

I Hate That Woodchuck

Drunk people in Western Pennsylvania get up early every February 2nd and watch as grown men in top hats and tails hold up a groundhog (aka – woodchuck) by the scruff of the neck. If the groundhog sees his shadow, we get six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, it’s an early spring.

Punxsutawney Phil – rodent

It is Groundhog Day. This is the one day every year when Punxsutawney, PA gets on the map.

Since I know some of you reading this check in from outside the United States, let me quickly explain. Drunk people in Western Pennsylvania get up early every February 2nd and watch as grown men in top hats and tails hold up a groundhog (aka – woodchuck) by the scruff of the neck. If the groundhog sees his shadow, we get six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, it’s an early spring.

This is a media event. Look at how they were set up for this morning

As the Groundhog Day celebration has grown in Punxsutawney over the past several years, so has our preparedness for the many members of the media who visit our town each year.

There are provisions in place to allow for convenient parking for satellite and other press vehicles at Gobbler’s Knob, and a designated press area is available for those covering the events.

Please contact us if we can help you with any aspect of your visit to Punxsutawney, or if you wish to arrange a radio or other interview.

A video feed of the events will be provided by the state of Pennsylvania:

EVENT: Groundhog Day Ceremony

TIME: 5:45 to 8:00 (Eastern)

SATELLITE: AMC – 9 (KU Band Analog)

MHz: 36

TRANSPONDER: K03

CHANNEL: 3

DOWNLINK POL: Horizontal

DOWNLINK FREQ: 11760 MHz

AUDIO: 6.2 / 6.8

By the way, it’s a scam!

OK – it’s not Enron or Tyco, but the Punxsutawney books are being cooked. This morning at sunrise, Gobbler’s Knobb, site of the groundhog, sat under a cloudy sky. That should have meant no shadow for Punxsutawney Phil. Guess again.

As always, Phil did see his shadow and word went out we’ll get another six weeks of winter.

As a weatherman… now a meteorologist… nothing thrills me less than knowing America is waiting to hear from the woodchuck that wants my gig! Damn you Punxsutawney Phil!

There is one good thing that’s come from Punxsutawney (other than my trip there, 30 or so years ago, for my friend Joel’s wedding at the Punxsutawney Country Club). it’s the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, Andie McDowell and Chris Elliott¹.

I originally thought the movie was awful, but as I’ve watched it again and again and again, it has grown on me. Now I willingly watch and enjoy.

I wonder if anyone ever walks up to the woodchuck and tells him, “I wish I could have a job where I’m wrong 50% of the time and still get paid.” No – all the rodent gets is praise.

¹ – Chris Elliott lives, or lived, in a beautiful part of the state, not far from the mouth of the Connecticut River. if you run into him, please tell him I’m a fan.

Aurora Borealis

The phone rang this afternoon. It was a woman who had been spending some time on spaceweather.com. She said they had reported tonight might be a good night to see the Aurora Borealis. There had been a CME, a coronal mass ejection, from the surface of the Sun. That would interact with the Earth’s magnetic field causing an eerie glow.

A few times a year I’ll let people know the aurora might make an appearance and I am mostly wrong. Auroras are more likely to come when I say nothing! Obviously, they are very difficult to predict. I wish that wasn’t so.

I have only seen a strong aurora once. It was sometime in the early 70s. I was living in North Olmsted, Ohio and working in Cleveland at WGAR radio. I remember my friend Joel (who is now the copter guy in Detroit) was visiting from Pittsburgh.

When we first saw the luminescent curtain in the northern sky, I thought it was neat. As time went on, I got worried. The truth is, there’s no danger from an aurora and I knew that, even then. But the curtain of light was so weird, so unusual, you couldn’t help taking pause. And, over time, it looked like it was undulating toward us. Probably an optical illusion of some sort.

There’s a theory I have that we didn’t see the aurora earlier tonight because I was so well equipped to show it – some sort of Murphy’s Law for television. We had four cameras on distant rooftops to point and the chopper was flying in the cloudless skies over Hartford.

Maybe next time. Maybe later tonight. You never know.

Phenomenal Aurora – I Missed It!

Earlier this evening, the heavens glowed in shades of red as the Aurora Borealis moved far enough south to be seen in Connecticut.

I received dozens of emails from happy people, thrilled to witness this rare event. Some folks say once in a lifetime, but that’s overdoing it.

Because auroras happen in the dark, it is very difficult to capture them on film. Digital cameras, not as sensitive as their film cousins, make it even more unlikely. I’m not sure how, but one viewer, Mike Jensen of Oakdale, CT was able to get it in his viewfinder, and the result is amazing. The shot is looking over Gardners Lake, Salem CT at about 7:30 PM 10/30/03.

I have only seen the Northern Lights once myself. I was living in Cleveland at the time, and my friend Joel was visiting from Pittsburgh. We sat outside and stared. I remember understanding what it was, but being petrified anyway. The colors undulated, as if it were a curtain of some gas headed our way.

I wish I could have seen it tonight. I’m glad I gave others a reasonable heads up.